I've worked with a broad range of professionals within the journalism and writing field including magazine writers, editors, technical writers, copywriters and reporters...to name a few.

Early in my resume writing career, a client came to me that had been a sports writer and broadcaster. Frank had spent over $450 to have a resume created that included the picture of a football player side stepping a tackle and tucking the ball under this arm. The picture was very arresting and at first I felt intimidated thinking, "How can I compete with this." Then as I read the content of Frank's resume I had such a feeling of being let down. While Frank had years of sports writing and broadcasting experience his resume only included about 3 lines describing it, and focused over half of his resume on his high school sports activities. The resume made me wonder if Frank was "all show and no go" as his resume presented (not a good first impression to make with employers).

Take a moment and review a small portion from Frank's before resume. Do the following titles present Frank as someone who has over 8 years sports writing and broadcasting experience?

Now take a look at the skill headings that Frank and I created while writing his resume. Does this new resume information present him as being much better qualified and worthy of a higher salary offer? Of these two examples who would you call to interview for a sports writer position?

Sports Writer, Seattle Times 1992 - Present Major League Sports Event Coverage Daily and Weekly Writing Assignments Sports Celebrity Interviews and Reporting Sports Broadcaster, KXIX Radio 1992 - 1995 Sports Talk Show Programming Interviews and Sports Guest Scheduling Sports - Newspaper Writer, Mercer Island News 1988 - 1992 Sports Reporting

Now let's look at how Frank can use numbers to describe some of his most important impressive achievements as a Sports Writer.

	Developed and wrote over 300 published sports event articles focusing on major league sports events and featuring interviews with leading celebrities including Michael Jordan and Ken Griffey Junior.
	Hosted #8 ranked, sports radio program for KXIX Radio with audience of 600,000.

As Frank's after resume illustrates, identifying your unique skills and abilities and slanting them to sound like the journalism and writing positions you want is critical to landing more interviews and higher salary offers.

$9,000 Salary Increase
The first resume workshop in this site shows how Fran's after resume resulted in a $9,000 salary increase. Fran wanted a $33,000 Corporate Customer Representative job but her resume created an image of her being at a $20,000 to 24,000 salary level -- that's $9,000 to $13,000 beneath her goal.

What Level Does Your Resume Market You At?
If you are curious to see what level your resume is marketing you at … then be sure to read and use the graphing techniques in my first workshop. By graphing the job titles used in Fran's resume it's easy to see why her resume failed … and once you understand this … you will understand why the majority of resumes fail. You'll then understand how to analyze your job titles and see if you are better off using them or replacing them with skill headings that market you more effectively.

Most People Have Job Titles that Weaken Their Image
I estimate that at least 85% of all job seekers have job titles unrelated to their current career goals … and that they are much better off using skill headings rather than job titles to land higher salaries and double and triple their interview rates.

For example, Fran had been a Directory Operator but in most people's minds that doesn't sound like she's at the level of a Corporate Customer Representative making $33,000 … that's because most people don't view directory operators as providing true customer service. Most people say that Directory Operator sounds like someone making only $20,000. However, by using the 12 Questions in my Proven Resumes Series, Fran wrote a new description of her duties as a Directory Operator that described her being selected out of 100 Directory Operators to provide specialized Customer Service to the Governor's Office and Political Dignitaries in the Washington State Capitol … now that information begins to change our image of Fran doesn't it? That makes her sound much more like someone being able to command $33,000.

Which sounds like a better match for the $33,000 Corporate Customer Service Representative goal… her old job title of Directory Operator … or a skill heading like Customer Service Representative to State of Washington Account. In Fran's actual resume we used the heading of Customer Service Representative but you can see how you can play with skill headings to control and elevate your image … this is one strategy I explain in detail with examples throughout my book, Proven Resumes: Strategies That Have Increased Salaries, and one of the strongest things I can offer you as a resume writer … just in case you don't have the time or patience to write your own.

Going from 0% to 100% Interview Rate
By using skill headings that matched her goal, Fran went from a 0% interview rate to a 100% interview rate -- meaning none of her prior resumes had landed an interview but her new resume landed an interview for each position she applied for.

Click here to learn other ways we improved Fran's resume and landed her a job paying $9,000 more click here to read my first set of resume workshops! If you've entered my site via this page, be sure to go to my main website's home page for an overview of more than 60 Free Resume & Job Search Workshops that include tons of Resume Tips for 45 Career Fields, Job Search, Electronic Resume, Cover Letter, Interviewing, Networking and Confidence Building strategies.

The testimonials throughout my site describe salary increases ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 and more. Here's one of my most recent ones:

In Summary
If the examples above make sense, then you may want to consider purchasing my booklet series, Proven Resumes: Strategies That Increase Salaries. It will take you through the steps that Frank followed to create the skill headings he used in his resume as well as statements like those shown above.

It is targeted for job seekers with a salary range of up to $100,000+ and provides over 2,000 skills, skill headings and sample sentences including a list for journalism positions including writer, reporter and copywriter--as well as lists for 39 other career fields. It also provides extensive resume examples and worksheets to help you identify your skills and market them to match the jobs you want. For a complete description click on the link below.

http://www.free-resume-tips.com
Phone: 425-398-7378
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